Magyar-Baccanerian War
Introduction The Magyar-Baccanerian War was the largest single war in the history of Europe, with casualties that are estimated to be in the millions. It is commonly recognized as the beginning of the end of the New Order as a prominent force in Europe; had Hungary not chosen to invade Baccaneria, the Empire, tired of fighting to support its lethargic ally Sturmland, might have removed its troops from the drawn out and seemingly eternal conflict in Bosnia in order to fight the Ottomans and Mameluke Sultanate. Nonetheless, the war was a bloody one on all sides, especially when one considers that it is largely responsible for infecting the Baccanerian trade system with plague, and therefore the rest of Europe. The Hungarian Invasion In order to draw Baccanerian attention away from its campaign in Bosnia, the Hungarian king was persuaded by Synigoro, the New Order leader, to invade Baccanerian holdings in both Greece and the Holy Roman Empire. An initial Hungarian army of about 150,000 men invaded the Holy Roman Empire, and three divisions of 150,000 men each charged the freshly completed Great Northern Wall of Baccaneria. The Holy Roman Campaign was initially very successful, as the Baccanerian military was preoccupied in other regions and did not expect the Hungarians to strike into central Europe. The Hungarians suffered few losses in troops, as did the Baccanerians, due to the lack of a major army to fight. The Greek campaign, on the other hand, was an enormous strategic mistake on the part of the Hungarians. Of the 450,000 estimated men who attacked the wall, only about 50,000 survived in one breakthrough, whereas the other two divisions failed. Reports from the field showed that the number of dead in the trenches was so great that they filled the flooded areas, so that water overflowed out of the pools. With 400,000 Hungarian casualties and about 60,000 Baccanerian casualties in this campaign alone, it already outnumbered the deaths of every crusade, and the legions of Baccaneria were well aware that this war would be incredibly bloody. Retaliation by the Baccanerian Empire The Baccanerians withdrew their armies from Bosnia to the dismay of Sturmland, leaving them to fight the New Order (although the New Order did not attack). The army reformed in the north, commanded by General Delios of Sparta, an quickly retook positions in Silesia, and forced the enemy into retreat at the Battle of Vienna. The army, which was at this point aided by French and Galportugese troops, would clash with the major Hungarian defensive line in the forests outside the Czech city of Brno. It was here that General Delios' infamous cruelty and relentlessness became publicly known, as guerrila tactics by the Hungarians defied the understood rules of war and Baccanerian artillery set the forests ablaze at the first sign of Hungarian forces, losing almost a hundred thousand men in the process. The Hungarians lost 140,000 men, and the battle was eventually won by Baccaneria when they finally adapted guerrilla tactics of their own and uprooted the Hungarians from their hidden defenses. Meanwhile, the defenses of Greece were quickly retaken by a smaller force led by General Entimos of Athens, resulting in 20,000 Baccanerian Casualties and 50,000 Hungarian casualties. It was here that Hungarian forces, unable to defend their borders any longer, withdrew to the city of Belgrade in an attempt to secure part of their nation against the Empire. The Battle of Belgrade At Belgrade, the Hungarian army was met b a combined force of what was now an international effort: 150,000 Russians, 100,000 Baccanerians, 12,000 frenchmen and 25,000 Polish troops were deployed to fight the last of Hungary's troops, commanded by Entimos. Troubled by an enormous wall of Cheval D'friese, the advancing army suffered enormous casualties. The Polish lost their entire force, and the Baccanerians lost all but a few of their 80,000 troops, while the Russians lost about 50,000 men and the French lost 8,000. Ultimately, an outright charge by the Russian infantry broke the enemy line, and in contrast to Baccanerian tradition, the international army sacked the city, killing virtually everyone who did not surrender. This amounted to about 190,000 Hungarians. Other Major Factors in the War Plague and Biological Warfare Infamously, the Black Plague took a hold of Europe at this time when infected Hungarians poisoned the Baccanerian Empire with intentional plague, and therefore poisoned its trading network. the Black Plague's casualties are not counted with those of the war unless they took place as a direct result of Hungarian conquest. Accusations were hurled at the French of collaboration with the new Order when plague-infected troops crippled Baccaneria's northern front after the crucial Battle of Brno. Chemical warfare This war saw the widespread use of Greek Fire as a spread weapon to devastate entire communities and destroy populations, especially in the battles of Brno and Belgrade. This use had never before been seen in Europe. Atrocities The Magyar-Baccanerian War is infamous for being a source of enormous numbers of atrocities, mostly Hungarian. This was the first war to feature atrocities of a scale this major, While the exact numbers cannot be known, the Hungarians were particularly aggressive towards civilians, and many theorists consider the Hungarian attacks on Baccanerians to be genocide. 380,000 civilians died in the Holy Roman Empire, and an estimated 170,000 died in occupied Baccaneria due to either Hungarian biological warfare or direct rape and slaughter, even cannibalism. Appalled, it is no surprise that the Baccanerian Empire killed about 150,000 Hungarian civilians and was far less indiscriminate in warfare against the Hungarians, whom they saw as enemies of civilization and war criminals, a view probably influenced by the Ubermensch with whom they worked closely during this war. Result Hungary existing no more, the land was split between participants with the bulk of the share going to Baccaneria, giving it control of almost all of the Balkan peninsula. However, the biggest legacy of the war was the casualties, as shown in the estimates below: -Baccanerian Army: 270,000-310,000 (+14,000 due to plague) -Russian Army: 50,000-60,000 -Polish Army: 25,000 -French Army: 50,000 (37,000 due to plague) -Galportugese Army: 30,000 (mostly due to plague) -Hungarian Army: 700,000-900,000 -Total Military Casualties: 1,139,000-1,389,000 -Civilians (Hungarian): 250,000-450,000 -Civilians (Holy Roman): 400,000 -Civilians (Baccanerian): 177,000 -Total Civilian Casualties: 827,000-1,000,000 +Total Casualties: 1,966,000-2,389,000.